The son of a seamstress and mechanic, my paintings continue a family history of labor through meticulous hand-made acrylic paintings on wooden panel. As a first-generation middle-class American growing up in the 80’s & 90’s under the influence of MTV, Nickelodeon, plastic toys, candy and bold fashion – my work infuses the California landscape and architecture with flat color, line and intricate patterns. These work broaden the scope of Latinos represented in art history and contemporary art, as well as re-examine the general associations with Chicano culture.

My current work incorporate hard-edge acrylic paintings on wooden panel with geometric shapes painted directly onto the gallery walls. While pushing the cannon of Chicano art beyond graffiti or large-scale murals, these works also question identity through the lens of such a richly traditional infrastructure.

Steven Vasquez Lopez, grew up in Riverside, CA and attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his BA in Studio Art in 2000. In 2007, he graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a MFA in Painting. He currently lives and works in San Francisco, CA.

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Awards

2006 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowship in the Fine Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission